Get Your Fade On
The most common timing function that programmers encounter is the fade time of a cue. This value determines the duration of changing all the values in a cue from their previous value. For instance, if cue three has a fade time of 10 seconds and all the fixtures are changing from 100 percent intensity to zero intensity, then this change will occur over the ten second duration. The console will scale the intensity values from their current setting (100) to their new setting (0). The fade time begins when the cue is triggered (by a GO press, timecode, external source or macro command).
Typically, a fade time for a cue applies to all parameters of all fixtures stored within a cue. This means that if in the example above the fixtures were also changing from red to blue and moving from US to DS, then all these changes would also take ten seconds to transition. However, consoles allow you to define unique fade times per fixture and per parameter of each fixture. This allows for some very dynamic (and complex) timing when a cue is triggered. For instance, if in cue three the intensity had a fade time of 20 seconds, the color of five seconds, and the position of 10 seconds, then the cue would look very different than when all the fade times were equal. Each of these fade values will begin simultaneously when the cue is triggered, but each will happen at a different speed based on the individual timings. The result on stage will be of the fixtures moving, changing colors and fading out with the color change completing half way through their move. Then they will stop moving while continuing to fade out for another 10 seconds. That is quite a lot of action in a single cue!
We Are On a Delay
Cues, fixtures, and parameters can also have a delay time assigned. This function will cause the fade time to start after a defined period when the cue is triggered. At first glance, the idea of putting a delay on a cue might not make sense. When you press the GO button to trigger a cue with a delay of five seconds, the cue will wait for five seconds after you pressed GO to start its changes via the fade time(s). You could have just waited five seconds to press GO instead of setting this value. However, the real magic of delay times comes when individual fixtures and/or parameters of fixtures are given unique delay times.
Let’s say that cue four has fixtures moving from SR to SL and changing from green to blue with a 20 second fade time on the cue. Everything will change together over the 20 seconds. However, if you change the delay time for the color to 20 seconds, the fixtures will move to their new position in 20 seconds and then take another 20 seconds to accomplish their color change. These two versions of this same cue will look very different on stage, and it is also important to note that the cumulative cue time has changed from 20 seconds to 40 seconds with the addition of the delay time.
Are You a Follower?
Your cuelist will not only have values for fade and delay times, but there is also another field often labeled as wait or follow. This value is the amount of time after a cue completes before the subsequent cue will automatically GO. Usually it is assigned to the cue that is waiting, but some desks instead assign a follow time to a cue that indicates the time before “following on” to the next cue. Here it is especially important to understand how your console functions, as the difference in methods can be very confusing.
Typically, a cue with no wait/follow time will simply mean that the cue is awaiting a GO press on the console or some other external trigger or macro. However, if a value is present, then this will indicate the amount of time before the next cue is automatically triggered without requiring any further GO action or trigger. For instance, if cue five has a wait time of five seconds, then it will automatically GO five seconds after cue four has received a GO command. Even if the fade and delay times of cue four are not complete, cue five will trigger five seconds after cue four gets its trigger. This could lead to unexpected looks on stage, so it is important to understand the relationship between all your time values.
The wait/follow value can also be assigned as an “auto-follow” with no specific time value. This will cause the cue to trigger at the completion of the previous cue’s total fade and delay times. This is especially useful when the previous cue has complex timing or may be edited often. Regardless of the timing changes in the previous cue, the next cue will always happen when the previous cue is fully complete. However this can also cause problems when trying to synchronize with music or action on stage, so use caution when working with “auto-follow” cues.
Advanced Timing
One of the most magical and simple effects to create on stage is a “peel,” where a series of fixtures make changes one after the other. For instance, let’s say you want to move 12 fixtures from an US position to a DS position. If you simply do this with a fade time of 10 seconds, they will all begin at the same moment, travel at the same speed and end at the same time. However, if you assign each fixture a unique position fade time that is slightly greater than the previous fixture, then the look will be very different. Now they will all start at the same moment, but move at different speeds and different end times. If instead of assigning these consecutive times to the fade time you used the delay time, then all the fixtures would move at the same speed, but start and end individually. By staggering the delay times, very interesting changes can easily be created. You can further vary the look by staggering the values in different orders (left to right, random, in pairs).
Most desks have a fan, spread, or align function that will allow you quickly adjust a timing range with unique values. You can often accomplish this by simply typing “Fixture 1 Thru 10 @ Time 5 Thru 15” (or something similar). In this example, fixture one will be assigned a fade time of five seconds and each subsequent fixture will receive a greater fade time value through to fixture 10 which will be assigned 15 seconds. You can do the same for delay times, but with a modifier on your command line or a button press.
The Time is Now
It is lots of fun to work with timing when programming automated lighting. Timing functions add very creative dynamics to cues and are essential to creating powerful changes on any stage. Take some of your own time to read the exact commands and terminologies used on your console and then play with the timing functions to see what you can create. I guarantee that in a bit you will be a timing guru!
